Lady Pirate perfection
Polson finishes undefeated in conference
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POLSON — The Lady Pirates finished out an undefeated season in conference play Friday as they downed the visiting Ronan Maidens in four games, 25-20, 25-17, 17-25, 25-17.
Breanne Kelley and Sallie Sams combined for 36 of the Lady Pirates’ 55 kills in the contest while Tailyr Irvine led the Maidens with nine. Marissa McCrea added 11 digs to lead the Maidens while Kendyall Rochin led Polson with 22 and Kayla Duford added 17. Duford also led the Lady Pirates in assists with 45 while Ashley Johnson led in aces with 10.
The two teams fought a close battle in game one but Polson was able to pull away at the end before dominating game two to go up 2-0 in the match.
Ronan dominated the opening moments of the third game, jumping out to a commanding 9-0 lead. Polson was never able to recover and the Maidens earned a 25-17 win in the third game.
Polson returned to form in the fourth game as they pulled away for a 25-17 win to take the match 3-1.
Despite the loss, Ronan coach Naomi Mock says she was happy with her team’s performance.
“We played well. There was still a minute or two where we let ourselves get down a little bit, but, overall, that was probably one of the best looking games we have had in quite awhile,” she said.
With the loss, the Maidens will enter this weekend’s Northwestern Class A Divisional Tournament in Columbia Falls as the No. 3 seed.
After finishing 4-4 in conference play this season, the Maidens are happy about their chances of doing well at the tournament.
“That’s what I like about this tournament. You get to wipe the slate clean and start over,” Mock said. “It doesn’t matter what has happened during your season, you can still win this thing and move on.”
The Lady Pirates will enter the tournament as the top seed after downing Ronan and Columbia Falls to finish out the season.
Polson had little trouble getting the win at Columbia Falls Thursday as they swept the Wildkats 25-14, 25-17, 25-11.
Kelley and Sams combined for 20 of Polson’s 30 kills in the short match while each also had two blocks in the win. Johnson led Polson in both digs and aces with 12 digs and six aces while Duford once again led in assists with 25.
Though Polson head coach Jan Toth says her team is ready for the tournament this weekend, she has stressed to them that you can’t overlook anyone at this point in the season.
“We are ready and prepared for this tournament. We are ready to take the next step but we know not to take anyone for granted,” Toth said. “Our goal is to win the tournament this year. We are not going to be satisfied with just going to state. We want a conference championship.”
As the top seed in the tournament, the Lady Pirates will have a bye in the opening round before opening play against the winner of Libby vs Columbia Falls. Polson will not play its first match of the tournament until 3 p.m. Friday.
According to Toth, having a first-round bye is exactly what she and her team wanted.
“Having that top seed is huge. You get that first-round bye and get to sit back and watch your opponents play. You get to see how their matches unfold and adjust appropriately,” she said.
The top two teams from the tournament will advance to the state tournament which will be held on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman next weekend.
Summary
Polson def. Ronan
25-20, 25-17, 17-25, 25-17
Kills - Polson 55 (Breanne Kelley 20), Ronan 21 (Tailyr Irvine 9). Blocks - Polson 4 (Kelley 2), Ronan 2 (Irvine 2). Digs - Polson 85 (Kendyall Rochin 22), Ronan 40 (Marissa McCrea 11). Assists - Polson 49 (Kayla Duford 25), Ronan 16 (Taylor Lynch 9). Aces - Polson 14 (Ashley Johnson 10), Ronan 4 (Irvine, Lynch)
Polson def. Columbia Falls
25-14, 25-17, 25-11
Kills - Polson 30 (Breanne Kelley 12), Columbia Falls 16 (Jesse Gist 7). Blocks - Polson 4 (Kelley 2, Sallie Sams 2), Columbia Falls 1. Digs - Polson 33 (Ashley Johnson 12), Columbia Falls 31 (Dani Gilley 12). Assists - Polson 26 (Kayla Duford 25), Columbia Falls 16 (Hope Burlage 11). Aces - Polson 10 (Johnson 6), Columbia Falls 4 (Gabrielle Stenger 3).
